Posted to findingDulcinea by Emily Coakley
A transcontinental friendship, formed online, became a lifesaver for one small child, MSNBC reports. Madeleine Robb and Megan Santos became friends through the message boards onBabyFit.com and delivered daughters on the same day. Recently, Robb noticed an odd white shadow in a picture of Santos’s daughter Rowan, posted on the site.
Robb did some research online and discovered a white shadow in a child’s eye could be a symptom of a rare cancer called retinoblastoma. She emailed Santos, who immediately called the doctor. By the next day, doctors had diagnosed Rowan with the disease.
“Do I consider Madeleine our hero? Most certainly. If she hadn’t sent that e-mail, Rowan’s prognosis wouldn’t be as good as it is,” Megan Santos told British newspaper Daily Mail, according to MSNBC.
The disease, which is potentially fatal, has cost Rowan her eye, but she’s in treatment.
Rowan’s father, Marc Santos, says on his blog Insignificant Wranglings that the media coverage from their story has already led to another retinoblastoma diagnosis over in England.
“When this is all over I’d like to write an article stressing how the internet isn’t just porn, piracy, and pedophilia. It’s also the power of (life saving) networks; the collaborative contact with others, which opens the possibility of response, compassion, and love,” Santos wrote.
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